Completely confused about the amount of water used in the recipe versus the ban marie. Is it 3 cups liquid for 1/2 cup oatmeal, PLUS water in the ban marie? Or just 1 cup milk with 2 cups in the ban marie, and could you use 3 cups of almond milk instead of milk and water?

My thoughts on the almond milk is that you will need some water in there...the milk (of any variety) makes it nice and creamy but doesn't plump oats quite like water does. I think the proportions here are dead on.

It's 3 cups liquid to mix with the one-half cup oatmeal, plus additional water for the bain marie. The instructions for cooking the oatmeal are as follows. Mix together in a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup: 2 cups water, 1 cup fat free milk, a pinch of salt, and one-half cup steel cut oatmeal. Insert the Pyrex cup containing the oatmeal into a large slow cooker and fill the cooker with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the Pyrex cup. Cook on low for 7 to 9 hours. This is really a fantastic recipe. It's wonderful to awaken to a cooked breakfast. Try it!

OK, I did it right, and added 1/4 cup chopped, dried apple rings, but it came out completely soupy after 8 hours. Tasted fine, but the consistency left a lot to be desired. Will try again - maybe mix some barley with the steel cut oats.